If it stopped with the sign, shirt or a bible verse, it would not be hate.  Those things by themselves cannot be hate because they have no heart.  But ask yourself honestly, what is it really that people like "Why" construe as hate?

I've been around the picket lines.  There is more than signage going on many times.  There is abusive yelling at the doctors and their patients.  With homosexuality, gay-bashing has been rampant among the Christian community in many areas.  It's sad, but it makes the news, and non-Christians are informed of the direct link Christians have to the whole thing, even though those who truly love Christ would never do such things.

Bible verses are fine as far as Christians are concerned, but until someone sees the love and invites Jesus in, most of them are "bossy" and perceived as me trying to tell everyone else the right way to live.  In their eyes, who am I to tell them such things?  That's perceived as arrogance.  The only thing that is never misunderstood is love, pure and unconditional love that only God can give.  The devil cannot duplicate it, no matter how hard he tries.  That's why they will know it is different.

When love is abundant, people become open to the power of the Holy Spirit.  They are more receptive to being drawn by the Father, and are much closer to making a decision.  Once they do, and "The Word" lives in their hearts, the scriptures become truly useful in teaching them exactly who lives there, helping them to change their outside actions.

I'm glad you see the purpose in my posts.  Perhaps I won't leave after all.  I'll just hang around for a while and watch for those who aren't comfortable with Christianity and speak to their needs.  They are, after all, the target of the Great Commission, right?

Love in Christ back at ya,
Craig

You missed my point by a long shot, blackeyedpeas.  I never told Christians to stop hating sin, nor did I tell them to stop calling sin, "sin."  Read the bottom line: "God despises your sin."  So do I, and it is scripturally based to do so.  But you advocate spouting your hatred of sin at the expense of the sinner's heart.  Shame on you.  Hate the sin, but not the sinner.

Name one person that Jesus saved by brow-beating them about their sin.  You can't.  Jesus first found the sinner, then filled their needs and loved them, then forgave them of their sin, then changed them from the inside out.

To be "Christian" means to be "Christ-like".  That means we too, should first find the sinner (Matthew 28:19), fill their needs and love them (Matthew 22:39), forgive them (James 5:16), and watch God change them from the inside.

bep, you simply don't have the power to save anyone, especially if you drive them away with brow-beatings.  To dictate the law to a non-Christian is sheer foolishness.  They don't even have a foundation to build on yet, much less the one true foundation.   Lay the foundation first, I tell you.  It is the Christians who need to be told what is/is not sin, because to the non-Christian it is sheer folly.  How can they possibly be expected follow the scriptures, when they haven't even asked "the Word" into their hearts?

I Cor. 13, my friend.  You can spout the evils of sin all you want to, but if you "have not love", you are worthless, and maybe I *am* in the wrong group of Christians.  I will be glad to leave, and shake the dust off my sandals when I go.  Perhaps my only purpose here was to let "Why?" know that she is loved.  She didn't seem to be hearing anything but hate from anyone else here, and no wonder.  You're all consumed with your precious T-Shirts.

As for the homosexual advice to dads, you've obviously never read James Dobson.  It's essentially straight from his book.  I have a son, and I encourage him not to suppress his gentle side, but to see it's true purpose, which is not homosexuality, but compassion for others.  I am following scripture to the letter, despite what you may think.

I've read enough posts to know that you know scripture, and that you have impressed quite a few people with that knowledge.  I know this from the "oohs" and "aahs" that invariably follow.  But the devil knows the scriptures too, even better than you do.  Knowledge of the scriptures is meaningless without application. Brow-beating non-Christians is NOT the intended application. The intended application is a closer relationship with God Himself, nothing more, nothing less.

So, in that light, let me apply this to those out there that would count oppression of sinners as acceptable in touting the hatred of sin:
    Luke 6:41-42 - "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye."
    John 8:7-11 - When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."  Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.  At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"  "No one, sir," she said.  "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared.  "Go now, and leave your life of sin."

Like it or not, Jesus loves doctors who murder unborn children every bit as much as He loves you.  He loves Saddam Hussein as much as He loves anyone.  It is the sin He hates and cannot tolerate.  But they are no more guilty of it than you are.

So, do you still think I am telling you to stop the abortion picketing now? No, if that message comes to you, then it comes from somewhere other than me.  I won't tell you what to do.  I will say this, however: think of all the time spent picketing that could have been spent loving someone to Jesus.  How many eternal souls have been lost so that we can try to save the physical bodies of unborn children whose souls are in His care anyway? (Forgive us for that, Father. We have been truly blind.)

You can't chop a tree down by hacking at the leaves.  You have to go to the root, which is at the heart of man, not his sinful fruits.

Why, I am truly sorry if you have been offended by "Christians" in any way.  I know it can be terribly confusing to see something un-Christian come from "supposed" Christians.  I offer my deepest sympathies for the pain you have been caused.

I only ask that you remember that Christians have struggles, too.  They fight spiritual battles that pull them many different directions at the same time.  Many times, that is when the forces of darkness step in and sway them using the power of their own emotions, leading to something they never intended to do in the first place.

But Jesus isn't like that.  He accepts you just the way you are.  You don't have to change a thing.  Homosexuality?  Abortion?  Drugs?  Doesn't matter.  He accepts you.  And if you are willing, he will show you the right path from the inside, not the outside.  I know, too many Christians want to change your outside first.  (Stop smoking! Stop drinking! Etc!)  They just know the road they have already travelled, and want to help you avoid the pitfalls.  Their intentions are good, really.  But the answer for man lies in his inner heart and soul, not in correcting his outside addictions.  Allow God to fix the inside first, and the outside will follow.

If you keep your eyes on Him, not on other Christians, and never stop seeking the truth, He will help you understand your own changes when you are ready to make them.  For some, He seems to change them instantly, immediately.  But for most, He works on them gradually, helping them grow over time, making the changes more lasting, more in keeping with what they can handle.  Be patient and work to rid yourself of doubt and confusion, which are not from God.  His light is constant and never changes, like a beacon in the night.  He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, and He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

You know, Christians by themselves are simply not capable of real love.  But when they step out of God's way (by removing their personal agenda), and allow Him to work, that's when miracles happen and lives are changed.

There would be no abortion if people's hearts were changed and their ability to care for an unborn life were to grow.  There would be no homosexuality if people's hearts were changed and men and women were accepted and helped to understand who God made them to be, especially by their parents.  (Any dads listening out there? Unless you want homosexual sons, you'd better learn to nurture their gentle side and show them how God really intends for that quality to be used.  Otherwise, they'll misinterpret it and learn to hate you for not accepting them.)

Too many Christians attack issues with picket signs and petitions, as if that will somehow solve the real problem.  I have no doubt that that is the source of the hate you have seen.  But, I implore you to recognize it for what it is and isn't.  It is hatred, but from Christians it is not hatred for a person; rather, it is hatred of an action that grieves them to the very core.

The bottom line is, God despises your sin.  But He loves you.  And with His help, so do I.